DVA change affects commemoration administration

Minister Chester has announced the appointment of Brigadier Paul Nothard (Ret’d) to the statutory position (under the War Graves Act 1980) of Director of the Office of Commonwealth War Graves. Brigadier Nothard will also take up the position of National Manager, Commemorations and War Graves, Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

Brigadier Nothard takes the place of Colonel Ken Corke (Ret’d) as both Director and National Manager. Colonel Corke held the positions for three years.

During 2018 the former Commemorations and War Graves division of the Department was collapsed into a single branch, Commemorations and War Graves, now within the External Stakeholder and Government Relations division. (Organisation chart.) The former head of the former Commemoration and War Graves division, Major General Dave Chalmers, has left the department.

The changes at DVA reflect the winding down of activities commemorating the Anzac centenary. It remains to be seen whether activities commemorating the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II (2020) will require organisational tweaking.